Hey,
I’ve decided to kick off a new weekly education series!
This week’s episode is all about:
Importing costs to GA4 is on the way, Gemini arrives in Looker Pro, and Safari tightens up on tracking.
I’m coming in hot with the freshest updates from the wild world of Google Analytics, Google Ads, Looker Studio, cookies, conversions, and all things web analytics. Stick around for weekly updates – I promise to keep them short, sharp, and worth your time.
1. Cost data import in Google Analytics 4 now supports more
sources
As of 24 June, Google has rolled out a new feature in beta that lets you import cost data into GA4 from a much wider range of sources. It’s still in beta, so you might not see it in your GA4 just yet – but it’s on the way! Supported sources include:
- Google Sheets
- Amazon Redshift
- Amazon S3
- BigQuery
- Google Cloud Storage
- HTTPS
- MySQL
- PostgreSQL
- Snowflake
Personally, I think importing costs into GA4 is a real game changer – especially when it comes to ROI analysis.
It’s going to make cross-channel performance insights far more accurate and valuable. Looking forward to seeing it rolled out more widely!
2. Gemini now comes built-in with Looker Studio Pro
If your Looker Studio Pro subscription started after June 3, 2025, Gemini is already active. No setup needed.
With the right permissions, you can manage it under User Settings > Gemini in Looker.
Backona AI has been chatting with data for over a year already – but it’s nice to see Looker heading in that direction too 😉
3. Google Analytics new Consent Settings hub makes setup
checks easy
Google Analytics just made it way easier to verify your Consent Mode configuration.
Go to: Admin > Data Collection & Modification > Consent Settings
You’ll see if everything’s set up properly, and if not, Google Analytics will tell you what’s wrong and how to fix it.
And if you’re wondering about tag issues, there’s something for that too.
4. Custom dimension syncing in GA360 just got real
As of June 2, GA360 lets you sync custom dimensions and metrics from source properties to subproperties. Any updates are mirrored automatically.
⚠️ Works only if subproperties are new or don’t already have custom settings. ⚠️
5. Safari’s latest update might block your tracking scripts
At WWDC 2025, Apple announced that Advanced Tracking and Fingerprinting Protection (AFTP) is now enabled by default in Safari, not just in Private Mode. That could mean losing access to tracking parameters like fbclid or gclid, especially if you rely on them for attribution. Still unclear how much it’ll impact major platforms, we’ll know more when iOS 26 beta hits.
Data collection in marketing seems to get trickier every year, doesn’t it?
That’s why I’m genuinely excited to see some real progress with our tracking tools.
Features like cost data imports in GA4 are a big step forward – they’ll make analysis, especially around ROI, so much clearer and more reliable.
Hope you found today’s updates helpful!
Feel free to reply to this email if you’ve got thoughts to share, or connect with me on LinkedIn if you’d like to stay in touch.
Catch you soon!
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